Barriers for Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Their Overcoming Strategies in Context of the Indian Automobile Industry

Sustaining in the present competitive business arena remains a challenge for global companies. The success of an organization and the final price of a product largely depend on the supply chain activities. Eliminating unproductive activities in SCM may bring down the product cost and improve efficiency. Recently, the integration of sustainability principles with SCM has gained significance and proven to be effective. However, several barriers remain as challenges in the integration. This study aims to collect and evaluate the barriers and strategies that will assist in integrating sustainability principles with SCM. For this, the study identified 15 barriers and 10 strategies related to sustainable SCM (SSCM) through literature review and experts’ interview. Then, the fuzzy TOPSIS technique analyzes the strategies. The barriers and strategies considered in this study are evaluated using the inputs from the experts who are associated with the Indian automobile industry. Findings revealed robust supplier relationships, enhanced social fairness, ensuring economic opportunities, enhanced quality, and customer participation as the top five strategies that could assist in adopting SSCM practices. It is anticipated that the study’s findings will equip the industries in SSCM adoption.